What If
by youre-never-too-old-for-disney
Summary: What if Tee and Johnny had another sister? Meet Jaymi, Johnny's younger sister and Tee's twin sister. When the Burnywoodies arrive at Elmtree House, Jaymi finds herself falling for Rick, but doesn't tell anyone. After about two years go by, will she finally admit how she feels?


**Hey guys! Here's a new story for y'all!**

 **Tracy Beaker has always been one of my favourite shows, and so I decided to write a story about it! This is a British show, so if you're American you might not of heard of it.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy and sorry for any typos!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRACY BEAKER RETURNS OR THE DUMPING GROUND OR ANYTHING EXPECT MY OC! THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT**

* * *

*Jaymi's P.O.V*

I was rudely awoken one morning by the doorbell being rung repeatedly. I groaned and got up, deciding to investigate. I grabbed my robe which was hung on the back of my door, threw it on over my pyjamas and walked out of my room, just as Tee and Tracy exited theirs.

"Yeah, okay, I'm coming!" Tracy said, rushing downstairs.

"What's going on?" I asked my sister, Tee, who shrugged.

"No idea."

We both followed Tracy down the stairs, along with our brother, Johnny who had now also woken up. Mind you, the whole house is now probably awake thanks to that moron ringing the doorbell.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Tracy yelled again. She opened the door, and a small boy with a mini afro and soot on his face was pushed in by a tall, scary-looking man, who also had soot on his face.

"Get in there!" The man roared, making me flinch. He reminded me of me, Johnny and Tee's stepdad before we were put into care. He was abusive, and I always got it the worst for some reason.

"Leave him alone!" Tracy said. I was stood next to Tracy, almost in front of the doorway, so the man pushed me out of the way as he walked in, followed by three more kids. They all had sooty faces as well.

"Get out of the way!" He demanded. I stumbled back, almost falling into Johnny.

"Oi, get off my sister!" Johnny yelled at him, wrapping an arm around me. This guy terrified me.

"What is going on?" Tracy asked the man. Suddenly, Carmen ran in and charged for the boy with the afro.

"You!" She yelled, grabbing his shirt.

"Carmen!" Tracy said, trying to break them up.

"He's the boy who stole all my stuff at Burnywood!" She screamed, "And he's the care worker who did nothing about it!" By now, Tracy had managed to pull Carmen away and was holding her back. The man just glared at her. I looked at the other kids, and one of them stood out to me. He had brown floppy hair and light blue eyes.

I suddenly realised I was in my pyjamas. Well, so was everyone else, but my pyjamas were just a tank top and shorts. I suddenly felt very exposed and turned to go upstairs, only to have Johnny's grip around my shoulder tighten.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, I'm going to get dressed." I told him, my voice low. Johnny's grip loosened and he gave me a small smile, before letting me go. I began walked upstairs, only to meet with Liam halfway up.

"You alright, Jay? That guy didn't hurt ya, did he?" Liam asked in his Cockney accent. Liam and I had always been close. He and Frank were like my partners in crime. Liam was like another brother to me, so he was protective, like Johnny.

"I'm fine, Liam. He just scared me a bit." I said. He smiled at me and I returned it as I gave him a quick hug, before continuing up the stairs.

ooooo

I was sat at the kitchen table, having cereal for breakfast, while two of the Burnywoodies sat across from me. The boy I noticed earlier, with the floppy hair and blue eyes, and a petite brunette girl.

"We only have two spear rooms, some of yours will have to share." Mike said to the man who pushed me, who's name I'd learnt is Dennis.

"She has to be on her own." Dennis said, pointing to the brunette girl.

"Well, wouldn't she prefer some company?" Tracy asked.

"Not if I say she has to be on her own." He said.

"Yeah but..." Tracy began, but was cut off by Mike.

"So that just leaves Rick, Lizanne and Tyler. Can we mix them with our lot, or d'you wanna keep them separate?"

"Well, wherever you stick 'em, care kids are trouble." Dennis said. I frowned. Tracy also looked offended, considering she was an ex-care kid. Then the guy with the mini afro walked in. I think his name's Tyler; that's what Carmen said when she was trying to rip his face off.

"Awh, check out the room. No padlocks!" He said, looking around in amazement.

"Yeah? We'll be getting some now you're here." Dennis said.

"We prefer to trust our young people, Dennis." Tracy practically spat at Dennis, before holding out her plate of cookies to Tyler, "Help yourself."

"Cheers." Tyler said, taking one and walking off.

"I wouldn't tell him to help himself, but there speaks the voice of inexperience." Dennis said.

"I've got plenty of experience with the care system." Tracy snapped.

"Oh, ex-care kid, huh?"

"Yeah, and proud of it."

"Well, I wouldn't risk employing her, but good for you for giving her a chance." Dennis told Mike. I could tell Tracy wanted to smash his face in, but did a pretty good job of hiding it. "Let's crack on with the paperwork, shall we?" Dennis got up and patted Mike's shoulder, but by the looks and sounds of it, it was more of a hard smack.

"Welcome to the world of pain that is Dennis-Ville." The guy with floppy brown hair said.

"How could you stand him for so long?" I asked.

"Years of practice." He said, "Although I still wish I could just smash his face in." He added.

"Yeah, me too. And I've only known him for one morning." I said. He nodded and hummed in agreement.

"I'm Rick, by the way. And this is Kitty." He told me, motioning towards the girl sat next to him. I couldn't help but notice how she hadn't said a single word, or even done anything except stare at her cereal.

"I'm Jaymi." I replied.

ooooo

I was sat in the living room next to Johnny, while we spectated a game of pool between Liam, Frank, Tyler and Rick, while Gus wrote things in his notebook. It was Rick's turn and he made a perfect shot.

"Nice." Johnny and I said in unison, just as a girl walked in. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. I saw Johnny do a double take and then start gawping at her, which I rolled my eyes at. _Boys_.

"Can I play?" She asked innocently. Then Gus stood up.

"I have Tyler, Rick and Kitty's name. I need to know yours." He told her.

"Why?" The girl asked.

"I need to add you to my list in my notebook."

"What if I don't want you to?"

"Why wouldn't you want me to?"

"Maybe I'm a spy."

"You'd still have a name."

"What's your name?"

"Gus Carmichael. What's yours?"

"He won't give up until he's got it." Johnny said shyly. Since when does Johnny get shy?

"It's Lizanne. L-I-Z two N's and an E." She said, before walking away.

"And what's your last name?" Before Gus could get an answer, Carmen stormed in, yelling.

"Right, which one of you skanky Burnywoodies has stolen half of my shampoo?" We all just looked at her. "It was you wasn't it?" She pointed an accusing finger at Tyler.

"Catch me smelling like a girl." Tyler retaliated.

"Chill out, Carmen." Frank told her, gently pushing her back towards the door before she stopped him.

"Um, you don't know what it was like. You weren't there." She yelled at him.

"Starting to feel like I was, the way you keep going on about it." Liam said. I nodded in agreement. Carmen huffed angrily and stormed out.

"Gina, you're never gonna guess what they've done!" We heard her scream down the hall.

"Oops." Lizanne said sheepishly, sitting on the arm of the couch, "I didn't know it was hers. Did I get the smell of smoke out?" She leaned towards Johnny so he could smell her hair.

"Yeah." He said dreamily. I rolled my eyes again.

ooooo

I was in Sapphire's old room, with Gina after she asked me to help turn it into Rick and Tyler's room.

"Right, guys, you know what, move the stuff off the bed, then you can put the mattress on there. Jaymi, give them a hand." Gina instructed. I got up and grabbed one of the boxes, as Rick and Tyler did the same.

"So, did she get fostered?" Tyler asked, referring to Sapphire.

"No, she turned sixteen and moved out." I answered, as we started carrying the boxes out. Then Harry walked in.

"This is Sapphire's room." He said.

"No, Harry, she doesn't need it anymore, but Rick and Tyler do." Gina told him.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind." I told him softly. Harry just took the box from Tyler and walked off.

"No, Harry," Gina called, but Harry ignored her.

"Look, let's just carry on." I told the two boys. They nodded and we continued carrying the boxes out.

ooooo

I was hanging out with Liam and Frank in Liam's room, when we decided to go get some food. We left Liam's room, only to find Tyler frowning at something in the hallway. We walked closer and saw it was a piece of fake poop.

"Plastic poo?" Liam questioned.

"Is that the best you can do?" I asked. Omg, that rhymed.

"Alright," Tyler said, "I'm listening."

We took Tyler to the bathroom, where we would plant one of our most famous pranks.

"The Foaming Volcano." Liam said, menacingly rubbing his hands together.

"One of my favourites." I said, smirking. Tyler started doing it all wrong, pouring the washing liquid in the toilet.

"No, no, no, no." Liam stopped him, "No one's gonna believe it if they see that lot down the bog." He said, as we lifted the lid off the tank of the toilet. "You gotta learn from the masters, boy." Liam told Tyler, as he squirted the liquid into the tank. We then hid around the corner and waited for someone to use the loo. After a few minutes, Elektra walked by. Great, of all the people, it had to be her. Tyler turned to us with a grin, but as he turned away, me, Liam and Frank made a run for it, and hid in Liam's room.

"WHAT THE...FOAM?!" We heard Elektra scream. And after that was lots of yelling and running.

"We should probably help him." Frank said.

"How's he gonna learn if we do everything for him?" Liam asked, with a smirk on his face. I nodded in agreement, a smirk of my own showing.

After Tyler and Elektra calmed down, I left Liam's room and went into my own. I sat on my bed and took out my journal, and turned to one of the pages, where I'd jotted down some lyrics for a new song. I started writing songs since me, Johnny and Tee went into care, but I've never told anyone, not even Johnny or Tee. I have terrible stage fright, even if it's just in front of my siblings. I can play the guitar and the piano as well, but people know about that. Although I still don't like playing in front of people.

Anyway, I took out my pen and started writing the rest of the first verse. It took me a while, but when I was done I picked up my guitar, made sure it was in tune and decided to put some music to the song. Or, the first verse, at least. And then, without realising it, I started singing,

 _"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go_

 _When all those shadows almost killed your light_

 _I remember you said 'Don't leave me here alone'_

 _But all that's dead and gone and past tonight."_

Suddenly, I heard someone clear their throat and almost dropped my guitar. I looked up and saw Rick stood in the doorway of my room. Oh my god, did I seriously leave that open while I was singing? What if the others heard?! Okay, calm down, Jaymi. Don't give yourself a freaking panic attack.

"H-How long have you been standing there?" I asked, kinda scared of the answer.

"Long enough." He walked towards me slightly, "You're a really good singer, y'know. And guitar player." He said. I blushed.

"Uh, thanks." I mumbled. I was kind of in shock. No one's ever heard me sing before. Suddenly, I heard a huge bang from the backyard, followed by another bang, and another. Me and Rick looked at each other, giving each other a 'what the hell?!' look. We got up from my bed and ran downstairs, along with everyone else who'd also obviously heard the bangs, into the backyard, to find Rick and Tyler's stuff under a bush being burnt by what appeared to be fireworks, and Carmen, Elektra and Tracy standing in front of it. Tyler was also there, trying to get to his ruined things.

"This is mine!" Rick yelled as he ran over to his stuff, which was currently being extinguished by Mike. "And I thought Burnywood was bad." He mumbled.

"You're grounded." Mike said to Carmen and Elektra, "And you'll pay for this out of your allowances."

"You're bang out of order, you are." Liam said to Carmen.

"Yeah, how could you just burn his stuff like that?" I asked her.

"I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine!" Carmen tried to defend herself.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't set fire to your stuff, did he?" I snapped, before walking over to Rick and Tyler to help them with their destroyed stuff.

"Jaymi, get back from the fire." Johnny said, but I ignored him and helped Rick with his backpack.

"Tyler, c'mon, move please. It could still be dangerous. You too, Jaymi." Mike said, still running the hose water over everything. I obeyed and walked away from the fire.

"You're grounded without TV," Dennis said to Tyler as Rick wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "For having fireworks."

"Cut him some slack, his gear's just gone up in flames." Rick said.

"Second time today. He should be getting used to it by now." Dennis shrugged. I just looked at him in disbelief. Does he even have a decent bone in his entire body?

"What are you looking at?" He snapped at me. I flinched and quickly looked down, following Rick and Tyler back inside.

"You guys alright?" I asked as we walked into the kitchen. They both looked at me. "Stupid question. Sorry." I said.

"S'okay, thanks for helping us grab what we could." Rick said.

"No problem." I said. Rick smiled at me before he and Tyler walked out, probably to put the remains of their stuff in their room. I decided to head back to my room, so I made my way there, until I found Tee and Tracy talking on the stairs.

"Everything okay?" I asked, seeing as Tee didn't look very happy.

"I tried to give Kitty a hug, because she was scared, but she pushed me." Tee explained.

"I'll go and talk to her. Thanks for telling me, Tee." Tracy said. She gave me a smile, before walking upstairs. I sat down next to Tee, since she still looked upset.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to. Remember what I was like when we first got here? I wouldn't let anyone touch me, except you and Johnny." I said, "Don't take it personally."

"I know, it just kind of surprised me, y'know?" Tee said. I nodded. Suddenly, Johnny came racing down the stairs.

"Where's Mike?" He asked.

"No idea, why?" I asked, standing up so he could run down the rest of the stairs.

"Someone's stolen my money!" He exclaimed. Me and Tee looked at each other in alarm, before following Johnny.

ooooo

I was sat on one of the couches between Rick and Frank, as Mike spoke. He called a house meeting after Johnny told him about his missing money.

"Nobody has anything to say?" Mike asked, "Fine. You don't wanna own up in public. You know what, I get that. But one of you has Johnny's money. And if it's not on my desk in the next ten minutes-"

"No, no, no," Dennis cut him off, "You don't give them ten minutes to hide it somewhere else. We're searching your rooms now." Oh great.

ooooo

I was stood in the corner of my room, while Dennis turned my room upside down, searching for Johnny's money.

"Do you really think I would steal my own brother's money?" I said quite sassily.

"Shut up, you." He growled. I flinched and kept quiet. He kept searching, but then he picked up my guitar.

"Please be careful with that-"

"I thought I told you to shut up." He snapped.

"I know, but that's just really special to me and-"

"Be quiet!" He yelled, throwing my guitar down in anger, causing the hollow, thin wood to smash. I gasped as tears filled my eyes, partly from fear of his raised voice, but also because of my broken guitar. That was given to me by me, Johnny and Tee's grandmother when I was about eight years old. Obviously, we were living here at that point, but I remember it came in the post around Christmas time. Our Grandma's dead now, and my only memory of her has just been smashed to pieces.

"Alright, you obviously haven't got his money." Dennis said as he left my room, not even bothering to clean up the mess he made. As soon as he left, I knelt down in front of my broken guitar and let the tears fall. I tried to be as quiet as possible, but clearly not quiet enough as I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in." I croaked, quickly wiping my tears and standing up. The door opened and Rick walked in.

"Are you okay? I thought I heard crying." He said. He then saw my guitar. "Did Dennis do that?" He asked. I nodded, as a fresh set of tears filled my eyes. Just looking at the broken parts made me want to cry.

"It's okay, I've got a guitar you can borrow." He said.

"It's not that. The guitar was my Grandma's... She's dead now." I said, letting a few tears fall. I hated crying in front of people, but I couldn't help it. Rick's eyes softened.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." He said.

"It's okay." I said, trying to contain my tears but failing. Rick slowly walked forwards and pulled me into a hug. I tensed a little at first, but then relaxed in his arms and wrapped mine around his torso. His hug was warm and soothing. After a few minutes, we pulled away.

"Thanks Rick." I smiled.

"No problem." He smiled back.

"WHO PUT GLUE IN MY SHAMPOO?!" A voice suddenly roared. It sounded like Carmen. Me and Rick exchanged a look, before we ran out of my room to see Carmen stood in the middle of the hallway with crazy hair. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Have you been crying?" Johnny then asked me, obviously noticing my red, puffy face.

"I'll tell you later." Was all I said. I couldn't tell him now, not in all this chaos. That's when I saw an upset looking Gus walk into the bathroom. Uh oh... A few minutes later, he screamed, clearly finding our foaming volcano prank.

I then noticed Kitty stood in the middle of all commotion, blocking her ears.

"Hey, are you okay, Kitty?" I tried placing a comforting hand on her arm, but she flipped out.

"No!" She yelled, pushing her hands out, and accidentally pushing me down the stairs. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I heard my name being shouted as I hit stair after stair, until I finally got to the bottom and everything around me went black.

ooooo

"Jaymi... Jaymi..." I faintly heard my name being called. I used all my strength to open my eyes and see Mike crouched in front of me, along with Johnny and Tee. I realised I was still in the living room.

"What happened?" Tee asked me.

"K-Kitty looked upset, so I tried to help her." I mumbled weakly.

"That stupid girl. She could've killed you!" Johnny said.

"No, d-don't blame her. I-I'm fine." I tried to get up, only to be pushed back down.

"Easy, Jaymi. The ambulance is on it's way." Mike said. I tried to shift my position slightly, but my ankle really hurt and I couldn't move it. I whimpered in pain.

"You okay?" Johnny asked in concern.

"My ankle hurts." I said. I started to feel dizzy again, and slowly closed my eyes. The last thing I remember is Sapphire showing up, but then I must've blacked out.

ooooo

I woke up a few hours later to loud snoring. I groaned and slowly opened my eyes, but quickly shut them again due to the bright light that blinded me. I tried a second time and let my eyes adjust, before looking around. I was in the hospital, with Gina asleep in the chair next to my bed. Well, that explains the snoring.

I then gasped when I noticed my leg was in a bright purple cast.

"Gina." I whispered. All I got was a snore in response. "Gina." I whispered loudly, huffing in annoyance when she didn't wake up. After trying and failing a third time, I carefully reached out and poked her, finally waking her up.

"Jaymi, you're awake." Gina smiled.

"Yeah, why is my leg in a cast?" I asked.

"You broke your ankle, babes. Remember, you fell down the stairs?" She said. I nodded, remembering everything. "I told the doctor you'd probably want a purple cast, since it's your favourite color." She added, trying to lighten the mood. I smiled slightly in thanks.

"Are Johnny and Tee here?" I asked hopefully. I mean, their sister has been put in hospital. They should be here, right?

"Sorry, babes, they wanted to come, but Dennis wouldn't let them." Gina said.

"Oh." I said, leaning back on the bed.

A little while later, a nurse came in to check if I was alright and then told us we could leave. Gina and I thanked her, as Gina helped me from the hospital bed to the crutches that had been given to me. I then hobbled out to the car, with Gina helping me, and we drove home.

When we got home, Gina helped me out of the car and into the house.

"Alright, just take it easy, yeah?" She said, keeping her arms around me for support.

"Yeah, alright, I'm fine, Gina. That's what the crutches are for." I said, shrugging her arms off. I've never been dependant, and I'm not gonna start now just because of a broken limb.

It wasn't until then that I noticed everything. The walls were bare, the piano had been taped up so no one could use it, and there were signs everywhere saying things like 'No Posters', 'No Mobiles' and other ridiculous things.

"What the hell's happened?" I mumbled, still looking around. As we walked further down the hall, we saw that the living room had been chained shut, with a door saying when it was open again. We then went into the kitchen, to see all the cabinets and draws and the fridge were also chained up.

"Jaymi," Mike said, walking in, "Are you alright?"

"I was until I saw all this." I said, shifting on my crutches.

"What happened?" Gina asked.

"It's Dennis. He's taken over." Mike said. I should've known this was the work of Dennis.

I shifted again on my crutches, and Mike noticed, "C'mon, Jaymi, let's get you somewhere more comfortable." He led me out of the kitchen, just as Rick was coming down the stairs.

"Jaymi, you're back." He said with a smile, "How you feeling?"

"I've been better." I said, looking down at my ankle and it's bulky cast.

"Rick, could you help her up the stairs?" Mike asked him.

"I don't need help with anything. I'm perfectly capable." I said, hobbling towards the stairs. I tried to get up them, but it took me at least five minutes just to get up the first one. Suddenly, I felt someone pick me up bridal style.

"Rick, put me down! I can do it myself!" I whined, but he ignored me and carried me up the stairs.

"Thanks Rick!" I heard Mike call. I rolled my eyes as Rick set me down at the top of the stairs.

"No need to thank me." Rick said sarcastically.

"I didn't need your help." I mumbled, hobbling away with my crutches. I walked down the hall, until I bumped into Liam.

"Hey, you're back!" He smiled, "You a'right?"

"I guess. Except for this annoying cast." I said, kicking my foot slight, but instantly regretted that action after a wave of pain went through my ankle, causing me to wince.

"Yeah, it doesn't really go with that outfit, not gonna lie." He said. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Thanks for the concern." I said sarcastically. Liam chuckled.

"I'm only playing with ya. I'm glad you're back." He said, hugging me. It was a little awkward due to my crutches, but it's the thought that counts.

That's when we were called down for dinner. With a little (unwanted) help from Liam, I got downstairs and walked into the kitchen, where everyone greeted me and asked me if I was okay, fussing over my ankle, especially Johnny and Tee. I told them that I was fine, but that didn't stop them from making sure I was comfortable and had everything I needed and everything. Man, this is gonna be a long six months of recovery. Then, of course, there were the people who weren't so concerned, (*cough* Elektra and Lizanne *cough*).

Anyway, after dinner, I was pretty warn out from today's events so I decided to head up to my room. And after about an hour of reading one of my favourite books, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", I fell asleep.

ooooo

The next morning, after breakfast, I was in my room listening to some music, when the fire along went of. I shot up, grabbed by crutches and with some help from Liam and Johnny, I got down the stairs and outside.

"RIGHT, WHO SET OFF THE FIRE ALARM?!" Dennis yelled.

"Me," Elektra raised her hand, "Just thought I should let you know that the, uh, attic's on fire." She pointed up to the roof. Dennis' eyes widened and we all looked at the roof, which was smoking.

I looked around and suddenly realised, "Where's Harry?!"

"There's a den in the attic." Tyler said. I gasped. Harry's like a little brother to me, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him. Tracy ran back inside, despite people telling her to say away as it was dangerous. I waited anxiously, until Mike came around the corner with Harry and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Here he is." Mike said as they joined us.

"Where were you?!" Gina asked the little boy as he hugged her.

"He was in the garden." Mike said.

"Wait, where's Gus?" Gina asked.

"Where's Tracy?" Mike asked.

Everyone looked around.

"He was right there." Dennis said.

"I think Tracy went inside to look for Harry." I said.

"Wait there." Dennis ordered everyone as he went inside. A few minutes later he came out with Tracy and Gus.

"You shouldn't have grabbed him like that." Tracy said.

"What, you'd have just let him burn?" Dennis snapped.

"Harry!" Tracy ran to hug Harry, "I thought you were up there."

"I was." He replied.

"Wait, but all our stuff's up there." I said, stepping forward slightly on my crutches.

"Get back!" Dennis yelled, shoving me and causing me to fall over. Luckily, I didn't land on my bad leg, but it did hurt and make me drop my crutches.

"Ow!" I shouted as I hit the ground.

"What happened?" Johnny asked.

"He pushed me." I said, glaring at Dennis.

"You alright?" Liam asked as he and Johnny helped me up and let me lean on them for support.

"I didn't touch her." Dennis lied, "Silly girl slipped in the mud. It's been raining all night, what do you expect?"

I don't think anybody believed him as they all glared at him, especially Mike, Johnny and Liam. I saw Rick looking quite angry at Dennis, which made me smile slightly.

It didn't take too long for the fire brigade to show up, as well as the police, and once the fire was completely put out, we went back inside. I went into the living room to spectate as game of pool between Liam and Frank. I would've joined in the game, but it's kinda hard to play when I can't stand properly.

I was sat on the couch, watching as Liam took his shot, when Lizanne walked in. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey guys, how you doing?" She asked Liam and Frank.

"I'm fine, thanks." I said sarcastically, seeing as she completely ignored me.

"I wasn't talking to you." She snapped, before turning back to the boys.

"C'mon Frank, it's your shot. We've got ten minutes before Dennis kicks us out." Liam said to Frank, who was practically drooling over Lizanne.

"Look, I'm sorry to ask, but I really need to borrow some cash?" She said.

"No." Liam said, before he smiled, "Huh, you're right. I didn't take long."

I giggled at that, earning a glare from Lizanne. Lizanne continued to be a sleazy little princess, but I couldn't be bothered to stay and watch any longer, so I carefully got up and left the living room with my crutches. I hobbled down the hall, heading for the stairs, when I bumped into Rick. Oh, good, I've been meaning to talk to him.

"Hey, Jaymi." He smiled.

"Hey, Rick, listen. I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday, when you helped me up the stairs. I just don't like having people do everything for me, but now that I've got this stupid broken ankle, people seem to think I can't do anything by myself." I said, "But I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry."

Rick smiled, "It's alright. After the day you had yesterday, you had a right to get annoyed." He said. I smiled back.

"Thanks Rick, you're awesome." I said. Rick chuckled.

"So, what are you doing now?" He wondered.

"Well, I was watching Liam and Frank play pool, but then Lizanne came in asking for money and I had to leave." I said.

"I know what you mean. I've never really liked Lizanne. She's just like my parents." Rick said.

"Your parents?" I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

"My mum and dad were scam artists and got put in prison." He explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." He said. "Anyway, if you haven't got anything to do now, d'you maybe wanna hang out with me?" He asked, a little nervous. I blushed a little for some reason. "I promise I won't carry you up the stairs this time." He added.

I giggled, "Actually, I might need you to. Without anyone's help, it'd probably take me about three days to get up the stairs."

Rick chuckled and we headed for the stairs. He picked me up bridal style and carried me up the stairs, then we went into his and Tyler's room, where Tyler was reading a comic book.

"Hey Ty." Rick said while I just gave him a little wave.

"Hey." He said, not looking up. Me and Rick sat on Rick's bed and Rick picked up his red electric guitar.

"Wow, that's your guitar?" I asked, looking at it in awe. Rick nodded. "It's gorgeous."

"Thanks. I've been trying to learn how to play Lego House by Ed Sheeran, but I can't quite get the chords right."

"I love that song. I love playing it." I grinned, but it then disappeared, "Or, at least I used to." I muttered, remembering how my guitar is broken. I decided not to think about it right now, though. "Anyway, um, if you want, I could help you with the chords to the song?" I suggested, a little nervous and scared he'd say no.

"Would you?" He asked hopefully.

"Sure." I said, smiling. Rick smiled back and began tuning his guitar. "Okay, why don't you try playing the song first, and then I can see which bits you need help with?"

"Alright." He agreed, and started to strum.

A little while later, Rick had pretty much learnt the whole song and was playing it for me to see if it was right.

"Perfect." I said once he'd finished. Rick smiled.

"Stop it." He said, blushing. I giggled.

His face then lit up with an idea, "Hey, why don't you sing while I play?"

"Oh, uh, I don't think that's a good idea. You see, I don't really like to sing in front of people and, uh..." I started rambling. I cannot sing in front of Rick. I can't sing in front of anyone!

Luckily, at that moment, Gus and Tracy walked in.

"I need to ask Rick and Tyler about the Burnywood fire." Gus said, notebook in hand. I looked at Rick, and he just gave me a confused shrug in return.

"And Jaymi, I need you to leave so you don't disrupt the interrogation." Gus told me.

I gave him a confused look, but got up from Rick's bed. I wasn't hurt, I know how Gus is, so I understand.

"I'll see you guys later." I said, smiling at Rick, who smiled back, before leaving their room and going into my own. I took the box out from under my bed and opened it, revealing the broken guitar pieces. I put them in a box under my bed, because even though it's broken, I don't want to throw what's left of my grandmother again.

I felt my eyes brim with tears as I stared at the smashed wood, but tried to hold myself together. Suddenly their was a knock on the door, and Johnny walked in.

"Hey, Jaymi. I came to see how you were, y'know with your leg and all." He said. He then looked at the box on my lap, "What's that?"

"My guitar." I mumbled.

"What? How did that happen?" He came and sat next to me on the bed.

"Dennis broke it when he was in my room looking for your money. I tried to tell him to be careful with it, but he told me to be quiet. I tried to tell him again, but then he got angry and, well..." A tear ran down my face as Johnny wrapped his arm around me.

"It's okay, we'll get you a new guitar." He said gently.

"It won't be from grandma though, will it?" I said bitterly. Johnny sighed.

"I know, but at least you've still got the pieces of this guitar. It's not like they got burnt in the fire or anything." He said, rubbing my arm soothingly.

"I guess." I sniffled.

"Are you okay, though? I mean, your leg and everything." Johnny asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Apart from when Dennis pushed me earlier." I said, "He really scares me sometimes. He reminds me of..." I stopped and looked down at my lap, fresh tears filling my eyes. Johnny wrapped his other arm around me and gave me a proper hug.

"It's okay, I won't let him hurt you. Or Tee." He said, rubbing my back. I hugged him back tightly, trying to stop crying. After a few minutes, I calmed down and we pulled away.

"I gotta go see if anyone's found my money, you okay on your own?" He asked. I nodded.

"I'm fine, Johnny." I said.

"Alright, see you later." He said, kissing my forehead and leaving. I put the box back under my bed and grabbed my songbook. I decided to continue with the song I was working on earlier, which I've decided to call "Safe & Sound".

I only got to write a little though, as Tracy and Gus walked in.

"Hey, Jaymi, mind if we ask you a few questions about the fire?" Tracy asked.

"Not at all." I said, closing my songbook and setting it aside.

"Okay, where were you when the fire started?" Gus asked, notebook at the ready.

"Well, I can't really do much at the moment with this thing," I gestured to my ankle, "So I was probably in my room, either reading or listening to music." I said.

"Okay, thanks Jaymi." Tracy said, while Gus wrote some stuff in his notebook. I just smiled as the two of them left. Once I was sure they'd gone, I reopened my songbook and continued with my song.

After about twenty minutes, maybe half an hour, I heard voices out in the hallway. It sounded like Tracy. It sounded like she said something about the CSI, so I decided to go and investigate. I grabbed my crutches and hobbled out of my room, to see Tracy, Gus and Elektra with a box of tools, trying to get into the attic.

"What's going on?" I asked, going over to them.

"We're trying to get into the attic to get more information about he fire." Gus said.

"It doesn't look like you're getting very far." I said, making Elektra roll her eyes. At that moment, Rick walked over, moved Elektra out of the way and grabbed a hammer, breaking the lock open. As the door opened, I saw him look at me and wink, before climbing up the stairs.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was trying to impress me with that. I doubt it though, why would he like me?

"You two keep look out." Tracy ordered as she and Gus followed Rick up.

"Yeah, not happening." Elektra said, grabbing her toolbox and walking away.

"Wait, no, Elektra-" But before I could get a word in, she was gone. I sighed. Guess I'm keeping look out alone, then.

After a while, they were still up there, but I was getting tired of waiting. And my ankle was starting to be a bother.

"Guys, hurry up!" I called up to the attic. I heard movement, and a few minutes later, Rick came down the stairs.

"Sorry, I forgot you were waiting." Rick said. I smiled.

"S'alright." I said.

"C'mon, why don't we go downstairs. You can give your leg a rest after standing up for so long." He said, guiding me towards the stairs. I smiled as he lifted me up bridal style. He set me down at the bottom of the stairs and we went into the living room, seeing as we still had a couple hours before Dennis closes it.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, do you want anything?" He asked me, as I sat on the couch, next to Liam who was also in here.

"Oh, no, you don't have to." I said.

"It's fine, honestly." He insisted.

"Alright, um, I'll just have a glass of water if that's okay." I said.

"One glass of water coming right up." He said, giving me a smile. He then looked at Liam, "D'you want anything?"

"Nah, you alright, mate." He replied. Rick nodded and left.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Liam asked me. I looked at him, confused.

"No, course not." I said, although for some reason I felt nervous. I almost felt like I was lying.

"You sure? 'Cause I've seen the way yous two look at each other. You sure you don't have the hots for him?" He gave me a small nudge as a smirk crawled onto his face. I rolled my eyes and giggled.

"No, Liam." I said. I don't know where he got that idea from. I mean, yeah, Rick sweet, kind and caring. And I do get a funny, kind of pleasant feeling in my tummy whenever he smiles at me. And he's cute, I'm not going to deny that. I mean, his floppy brown hair and baby blue eyes are enough to make any girl go crazy and... Oh my god, I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. I like Rick. No, no, no, this can't be happening. I can't like him. I've only known him for a few days. And what would Johnny do? He's flip if he found out I liked Rick. He'd probably kill him! And what would Rick do? There's no way he would like a girl like me, I'd probably scare him off if he found out I fancy him. I can't let anyone know I like Rick, especially not Rick himself.

"Anyway, what's up with you, Grumple-stiltskin?" I asked, giving Liam a playful nudge, seeing as he looked like someone killed a puppy right in front of him when I walked in.

Liam sighed, "Frank ditched me for Lizanne."

"Aww, that sucks." I said. Liam nodded. "But, hey, you've still got me." I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" He teased. I rolled my eyes playfully, lifting my head. Suddenly, we heard a loud crash from upstairs, followed by a scream. It sounded like Gus. Me and Liam looked at each other, alarmed, before we both got up to go see what was going on.

A few minutes later, I, along with everyone else, was stood outside the office door, listening to all the yelling. Gus apparently had fallen through the floor of the attic. Luckily, he landed on one of the beds in Carmen's room, but Dennis was still going off on one at Tracy. After a while of us listening, Gus barged in, despite Dennis telling him to leave, and showed Mike the cigarettes he and Tracy apparently found buried under some sawdust in the attic. I wasn't really listening that much, until I heard Dennis ask for Tracy's ID and keys. That can't be good.

When we heard the door begin to open, we all made a run for it. Tracy went upstairs to get the rest of her things, and we all waited in the hallway by the front door to say goodbye. When she finally did come down, she didn't look happy. Though, I can't really blame her, can I?

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." She mumbled, walking towards the door.

"Nah, you'll be back. You always are." I said, trying to be positive. Although, if I'm being honest, I was trying to convince myself more than anything.

"I dunno, I've really messed up this time." Tracy said.

"C'mon, you've done worse than that." Liam pointed out. Tracy chuckled lightly.

"Thanks guys. Glad to know you're all on my side." She said with some light sarcasm. And then Dennis just had to walk in and ruin the moment.

"Don't worry, I'm going." Tracy sneered at him.

"You'll come back to visit, right?" Tee asked.

"Course I will." Tracy said.

"All visits will need to be pre-approved by the head careworker. And your social workers." Dennis said. I rolled my eyes, as Harry stepped forward to hug Tracy.

"I didn't do it, Tracy." He whimpered.

"I know." She said, hugging him tightly. Dennis cleared his throat and they pulled away.

"Bye guys." She said to all of us. We all mumbled goodbye before she left.

But then, not even ten minutes later, she came back in with a box of cigarettes.

"Rick!" She screamed up the stairs. I frowned. They were Ricks?

"What?" Rick asked, walking down the stairs, followed by Kitty.

"Yours I believe?" She held up the box, "Grantham's full strength, the attic smoker's choice."

"What's going on?" Kitty asked.

"Nothing, it's ok." Rick said.

"Kitty, do you know anything about these?" Tracy asked the brunette.

"I found them. In my room." She said.

"Someone put them there." Rick defended her and I couldn't help but smile at how protective he was, "Kitty gave them to me and I threw them out."

"So you admit it. Kitty had cigarettes and you helped her hide them." Dennis said, twisting Rick's words. God, I hate that man.

"No, that's not what I said!" Rick said.

"Shush. Give me those," He snatched the cigerette box off of Tracy, "You're both on sanctions. You don't leave the house until further notice. And I'll be passing these onto the fire investigators."

"Dennis-"

"Not now, Mike, we'll talk in my office." He then looked at Tracy, "You, get out. The rest of you, go to your rooms."

"Dennis!" Mike followed Dennis out as we all just sat and looked at each other. Eventually, we all went to our rooms. Except Rick, who ran out after Tracy, probably to try and explain the whole Kitty thing.

I went into my room and started reading one of my Harry Potter books, since I'd finished The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

A little while later, Johnny and Liam came in.

"Fancy helping us scam Lizanne?" Liam asked. I looked up at him a smirked.

"You shouldn't even have to ask." I said, getting up and grabbing my crutches, following them downstairs.

ooooo

"Um, Lizanne, can I borrow your new straighteners, please?" Carmen asked as me, her, Lily and Tee walked into the living room, where Lizanne was straightening her hair.

"Get your own." She snapped.

"C'mon, we're not all as rich as Liam, you know."

"What do you mean? Liam's not rich." Lizanne scoffed.

"That's what he makes out." Tee said.

"But his uncle's totally minded." I said.

"He's always buying new stuff for Liam. Gives him cash every month." Lily said.

"It's true. He's like a total zillionaire." Carmen added.

"Right." Lizanne smiled a little, and I knew we had her right where we wanted her.

And that's when Liam walked in.

"You alright, girls?" He asked, taking a seat on the pool table. We all said hi, but Lizanne said it a little more flirtatiously.

"Anyway, we better, um..." I slowly trailed off. Lily, Tee and Carmen mumbled in agreement and we walked off, but then stopped in the doorway of the living room to watch the whole thing. Carmen even filmed it with her phone, probably to show Frank that evidence that his 'girlfriend' is a lying little gold digger.

"So, how's it going with your new boyfriend?" Liam asked.

"If you mean Frank, he's not my boyfriend." Lizanne said.

"That's not what he said when he called you his girlfriend." Liam said.

"Frank's really sweet, but, he's more of an excuse than anything." She said.

"Does that mean you're open to other offers?" He asked, as they both stood up. Lizanne than walked over and kissed Liam's cheek, just as Frank appeared. Uh oh...

"Liam!" He yelled, before running off.

"Frank, wait!" Lizanne called. She started running after him, only to be stopped by Gus and Rick.

"Lizanne," Gus said.

"What?" Lizanne snapped.

"Where were you when the Burnywood fire started?" He asked her. I started to get pretty bored at that point, so I decided to go and see how Frank was doing.

Tee very kindly helped me up the stairs and I thanked her, before going into Frank's room, where he had Liam pinned up against the room.

"Whoa, whoa, what is going on?" I asked, using one of my crutches to break them apart, but it didn't work.

"Look, I don't need protecting. I know exactly what Lizanne's like, but I like her!" Frank shouted.

"Well, then you're crazy." Liam said, when Frank finally put him down, "Look what he did to Johnny, he stole his money and broke his heart!"

"You don't know about the money!" Frank argued.

"Oh, come on. Who else could it be?" Liam pointed out.

"She'll mess you up big time, Frank." I spoke up.

"I can handle it." Frank glared at me.

"Really?" Liam grabbed Frank by the shoulders, "Look me in the eye and tell me you trust her."

Frank stayed silent.

"You could do so much better, Frank, trust me." I said.

"Can I?" He asked.

"Trust me." I repeated, before me and Liam slowly left, leaving him to think about it. "Poor guy." I mumbled, as we walked into Liam's room.

"Yeah." Liam nodded, as we flopped down onto his bed. We both got our phones out and started playing on them, while also chatting about random things. This is something pretty common for Liam and I. We just sit in either mine or his room and talk about anything and nothing, while mindlessly messing around on our phones.

We did that for about an hour, until Frank came in and told us Lizanne was leaving. Me and Liam exchanged a look and followed him down stairs. We gave him time to say goodbye, before we joined him outside.

"Look, we were just trying to look out for a mate." Liam said.

"I know." Frank sighed, as Lizanne drove away, blowing him a kiss as she went.

Suddenly, Johnny came out, all happy and excited.

"Look! Look! I found it and it's all there!" He was holding his money.

"That's great." I smiled.

"Did you know something about this?" Johnny looked at Frank.

"Not a clue, mate." Frank said. Me, Liam and Johnny then decided to go inside and give Frank some time to himself. As we walked inside, we saw Dennis with his coat and a brief case.

"Is he finally leaving?" I mumbled.

"Looks like it." Liam said happily. I grinned.

"Look, Tracy," Dennis said.

"What?"

"Do you know if my... You won't tell anyone about what we discussed, will you?" He asked. Tracy gave us a look and we new we should leave.

I went up to my room, to work on a new song, when I got a knock on the door.

"Come in." I called and to my surprise, it was Kitty. "Hey, Kitty, you alright?" I smiled at her.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say..." She started playing with her sleeves nervously, something I used to do.

"It's okay, go on." I smiled encouragingly.

"I'm sorry." She blurted, "For pushing you down the stairs. For doing that to you." She gestured to my ankle. I smiled.

"It's okay. You did it out of self-defence. You know, know how you feel." I said.

"You do?" She asked in surprise. I nodded.

"My...um, my stepdad wasn't very nice to me and when me, Johnny and Tee went into care, I was pretty much scared of anyone. I wouldn't talk, I wouldn't let anyone touch me. But, I eventually learnt to trust more people and now, I'm much more confident and happy." I said. Kitty smiled and hugged me. I was a little shocked, since she obviously never touches anyone, but hugged her back nonetheless.

"Thanks." She said, as she pulled away.

"No problem." I smiled.

The rest of the night was pretty boring. Kitty left my room, and I went back to my song. I worked on it for a few more hours, before I went down for dinner. After dinner, I did a bit of reading before I decided to get an early night and went to bed.


End file.
